Helen Keller

For a book as slim as this little Piccolo paperback, Helen Keller manages to carry an astonishing amount of determination between its covers. Written by J. W. and Anne Tibble and published in 1973, it belongs to that glorious era of children’s biographies when publishers believed that the best way to inspire young readers was to present them with individuals who had overcome obstacles so vast that merely getting out of bed in the morning suddenly seemed a rather modest achievement.

Helen Keller, of course, remains one of the most remarkable figures of the twentieth century: deaf, blind, and yet somehow destined to become a writer, lecturer, campaigner, and international celebrity. The challenge facing any biographer is deciding where to begin. With Keller’s extraordinary childhood? With the arrival of Anne Sullivan, arguably one of the greatest teachers who ever lived? Or with the astonishing fact that Keller would go on to graduate from university and spend decades speaking for disabled people around the world? The Tibbles sensibly attempt all three, producing a concise and highly readable account that serves as both introduction and inspiration.

What makes this volume particularly charming today is its unmistakable 1970s confidence. There is something wonderfully earnest about educational paperbacks of this period. They approach their subjects with absolute certainty that young readers are capable of being improved by exposure to admirable lives. No explosions. No secret codes. No talking dragons. Just a woman overcoming seemingly impossible barriers through intelligence, persistence, and sheer force of will. The radical suggestion being that this might actually be interesting.

The Piccolo edition itself is a lovely survivor from a vanished age of school libraries, jumble sales, and bookshelves assembled from orange-stained pine. One can easily imagine this copy spending decades quietly waiting between a volume on Florence Nightingale and another on Captain Cook, patiently educating generations of children who were supposed to be doing something else.

Condition-wise, this copy is described as Good, meaning it has successfully navigated the last half-century without excessive drama. It may have acquired a little character along the way, but then so has everyone else who was around in 1973. The pages remain perfectly capable of introducing a new reader to one of the most extraordinary lives ever lived.

An inspiring biography, a nostalgic slice of educational publishing, and a useful reminder that genuine courage rarely comes with special effects. Exactly the sort of quietly fascinating book that Crappy Old Books delights in rescuing from obscurity.

Keep browsing: See more Non-Fiction books Other books by JW and Anne Tibble